Don’t expect to ever see The Undertaker appear for AEW or any other pro wrestling promotion as The Dead Man really is a WWE-lifer, according to a new report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
It was reported back in mid-April that Taker had recently signed a new WWE big-money deal. Taker put ink to the new contract after Vince McMahon reportedly made him an offer he couldn’t refuse, financially. There weren’t many details revealed on the new contract, but there was an agreement that Taker could no longer work the non-WWE dates that he had started booking. This is what led to Taker being pulled from the Starrcast II convention during AEW’s Double Or Nothing weekend back in late May, after he had already been announced to appear.
In an update, the Observer reports that Taker’s new WWE deal, while not exactly billed as a lifetime contract, is for so many years that for all intents & purposes, it is a lifetime deal.
It’s interesting that Taker agreed to such a lengthy deal as he reportedly felt like his WWE career was over, or coming to an end, following his matches in late 2018 – the tag team match at WWE Crown Jewel in November, which saw Taker and Kane lose to WWE Hall of Famers Shawn Michaels and Triple H, and the No DQ loss to Triple H at WWE Super ShowDown in October. That’s when Taker started booking the non-WWE paydays. Vince was said to be really upset when the Starrcast appearance was announced, but the lucrative contract offer was made once things calmed down between the two sides. It had been reported in early 2018 that Taker was charging $25,000 per hour for non-WWE appearances, and that he would have no trouble getting booked.
There’s no word yet on when The Dead Man will return to the ring, but he will likely wrestle during WWE’s next event from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, planned for Friday, November 1. We could also see him in action at the Survivor Series pay-per-view on November 24, but that has not been confirmed. Taker vs. Drew McIntyre was rumored for SummerSlam at one point, but that match is not on the books for the August 11 pay-per-view. While Taker did not perform at WrestleMania 35 this year, he has worked two matches since signing the new big money contract – he defeated WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg at Super ShowDown on June 7, and then teamed with Roman Reigns to defeat McIntyre and Shane McMahon at Extreme Rules on July 14.
